Xue Chongxun had never been to this place at all, so how did he know that there was a Tang Army outpost? He offered to send him to the outpost. But the villagers were very afraid of that place, afraid of sending such a person who didn't know the details to be regarded as a spy by the army, so they discussed it for a while and decided to send Xue Chongxun to the official mansion. Because in their mouths, the county lieutenant of Dahua City loves the people very much and is very popular. The main task of the county lieutenant is not to arrest thieves, it is actually a pro-people official, most of the county lieutenants have to deal directly with the people, and it is quite important to accumulate fame, no wonder the villagers trust him so much.

To Xue Chongxun's surprise, the villagers rejected his gold-ornamented scabbard. The village elder said: "A gentleman loves money and takes it in a good way." Don't be greedy for small profits, getting money from unknown sources is not reassuring; If the government confirms the identity of this Langjun, and rewards will be given at that time, we will be at ease when we get it. ”

All the villagers bowed down and obeyed the village elder.

They were still on guard against Xue Chongxun, arranged an empty house, and photographed a few young guards. But it was not bad for him, and he was sent some hot food, as well as bath water and clean clothes.

The clothes on Xue Chongxun's body had not been washed for almost a month, mixed with the strange smell of stinky sweat and all kinds of dirt...... Think about yourself in the Tang Dynasty, and you have never been so dirty.

As soon as it was dawn the next day, the villagers selected seven or eight young and strong sons, drove three donkey carts, and sent Xue Chongxun into the city.

Along the way, the mountains and rivers were beautiful, and Xue Chongxun's mood also improved. Because he is the county king of the Tang Dynasty, although now the lost soldiers have become the commander of the light pole, as long as he sees the official, he will immediately be awesome. Looking back on the past month, it's hard to look back, but now it's finally over.

In ancient times, the traffic was really slow, and when I entered the county seat, I walked for a whole day, and when I arrived at Huacheng, the sky was slanting westward. I heard from the villagers that this is quite fast.

The war has not yet burned this small border city, and at the moment it looks very quiet, with streets and alleys, and bluestone roads very simple. Xue Chongxun actually saw a lot of coolies pulling carts on the donkey cart, treating people as animal laborers? This situation is a bit like the yellow bag rickshaw in the late Qing Dynasty, the difference is that these coolies are pulling goods.

This has never been the case in Chang'an and other places, where population is productivity, and young and strong labor is valuable. Xue Chongxun couldn't help but ask curiously.

The villagers in the same car said: "Most of them are Tuyuhun people, who flow into our Datang, and have neither fields nor foundations, so they have to work as coolies." Many big families on our side also accept Tuguhun people as slaves. ”

"I see." Xue Chongxun said in his heart, the weakness of the country is really a disaster for most people.

Enter the city from the south gate of Dahua City, walk straight north along the avenue, and it is the place where the official office is located. After the servant reported it, after waiting for a while, someone summoned them in. Xue Chongxun followed Xu Shi past Xiao Qiang, who was decorated with large animal teeth, and saw a tall thin old man wearing a green head and a blue official robe.

The old man greeted Xiao Qiang, which was considered to have given enough face, and he probably heard that the relationship between the generals of the Tang Army was reported, whether it was true or not, it was safer to do so. In the Tang Dynasty, there was no civil official control of military generals, and there was a saying that some prime ministers used to be generals who went on horses to fight, and they were honored with relatives and nobles, and they were often awarded military positions such as General Jinwu.

With a ceremonial smile on his face, the old man in Tsing Yi looked Xue Chongxun up and down, clasped his fists and asked, "I am Jiang Changqing, the lieutenant of Dahua County, and I heard that you are a general of the Tang Army?" The hood he wore on his head made Xue Chongxun feel very cordial, and only Han people wore this kind of hat.

Xue Chongxun said: "I am Xue Chongxun, the king of Hedong, and I escorted Princess Jincheng into Tibet a month ago...... Jiang County Lieutenant should have heard about this. There was an accident on the road, and my subordinates were scattered by the Tuyuhun soldiers, so I walked east and walked to the territory of Langzhou. ”

Xue Chongxun said while deliberately showing the goldfish bag hanging on his waist, which was really a little abrupt when hanging on Mai. Then he doesn't have to talk nonsense, since Jiang Changqing is a person in the officialdom, he naturally knows how to arrange it.

Jiang Changqing's face suddenly showed a shocked expression, he looked at Xue Chongxun again, and nodded: "I know about that...... The king of the county has come to our land? ”

The identity of the county king really works everywhere, and it was easy for the government to determine his identity, but Xue Chongxun still couldn't wait to grope around on his body, trying to find something that could prove his identity. But apart from jade and other valuable things, there is nothing in the seal.

Jiang Changqing didn't suspect too much, no one was stupid enough to go to the official mansion to pretend to be a big man like the county king, and he would soon find out. He immediately said politely: "The king of the county, please, after a while, the official will go to report to the county order." ”

Xue Chongxun breathed a sigh of relief, and also pretended to be polite, although the other party was a petty official, but for his sake, he got himself out of trouble.

Jiang Changqing took Xue Chongxun into the mansion on the one hand, and on the other hand, he put on an almost: "Xiaguan also lived in Jingshi for a period of time before, but he didn't have the opportunity to get to know the king of the county." ”

Xue Chongxun blurted out, "County Lieutenant Jiang has been a Beijing official?" ”

If you have been a Beijing official, but now you are a county lieutenant, then you belong to the type of exile, and you must have a "political mistake". Jiang Changqing smiled indifferently: "No, a few years ago, I went to my relatives to find a way out, and I lived idle for a while. ”

While the two were talking, they walked into a hall, Jiang Changqing called someone to serve tea, and then said that he would go to report to the county order and left. His departure made Xue Chongxun wait enough, waiting for the sun to go down, and he hadn't seen Jiang Changqing come back yet. Xue Chongxun walked back and forth many times, and then asked the soldier at the door, Jiang Changqing, why did he go, but the servant obviously didn't know,

Just when Xue Chongxun was waiting impatiently, Jiang Changqing finally came back, and as soon as he entered the door, he kept bowing: "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I made the county king wait for a long time." Wang Xianling is still in the warehouse in the east of the city, and he won't be able to come back for a while...... It's military rations in it! The officials are not well managed, the warehouses are leaking, the grain is damp, and the military affairs will be delayed. Alas! Alas! ”

Xue Chongxun felt that something was wrong...... The dignified county king came to such a county seat, what kind of warehouse did they manage? For those who are in power, is it the people above who are important, or what is the Laoshzi warehouse important?

However, he didn't think much about it, he didn't know the situation here, let alone Jiang Changqing's personality; And others can't fully confirm whether he is the king of the county. Xue Chongxun smiled dryly: "It's okay, it's okay, Jiang County ordered to arrange it, prepare some carriages and horses, and send me back to Chang'an." ”

Jiang Changqing bowed and said: "The official has arranged a house for the county king in the county front street, it is not early, the county king is tired on the road, first he will stay and rest for one night, tomorrow the county order will come back, I will go to the house with my colleagues to pay a visit." What do you think? ”

Xue Chongxun listened to it and imagined that there would be a banquet tomorrow, and they had to eat and drink to fulfill the friendship of the landlord. He smiled and said, "Okay." ”

"There are many rudenesses, and I hope the king of the county will bear with me."

Xue Chongxun said generously: "Where is it, I didn't have a message before I came, I was in a hurry, Jiang County Ling can arrange a place to settle down so quickly, and when I return to Chang'an, I will mention the name of Jiang County Lieutenant to my colleagues." ”

Jiang Changqing suddenly showed a happy expression, this power is from the top down, there is a road above, and everything is easy to do. Xue Chongxun understood his mood very well.

"The lower official has arranged a car, please move to the county king and come to the place where he is staying."

So Xue Chongxun and Jiang Changqing came out of the hall, and sure enough, they saw a carriage parked in the courtyard, and there were four servants around. Xue Chongxun got into the carriage, Jiang Changqing took the reins of the horse, turned over a horse, and wanted to send Xue Chongxun over in person.

When you get out of the gate, the lights on the street are already lit, and the town looks even more prosperous at night than during the day...... The small Dahua City naturally can't be compared with the metropolises of Chang'an Luoyang, but Xue Chongxun has just escaped from the wilderness and forest, and he still has a sense of lingering when he sees such a scene.

At that moment, the carriage suddenly turned into a dark alley. Xue Chongxun's heart tightened inexplicably, and he hurriedly asked, "Where is this going?" ”

Jiang Changqing hurriedly leaned on the horse and said, "Don't worry, the king of the county, this road is near." ”

Because of the dim light, Xue Chongxun became more and more nervous, and he comforted himself again: Maybe he was too worried, this is in the territory of Datang, his own people! The officials of the Tang Dynasty still had the courage to plot against the county king, and it was risky, what was the benefit?

But he remembered that the man surnamed Jiang said that he had stayed in Chang'an, maybe he had been a Beijing official, and he was exiled because of the wrong position...... Then he may have been from the side of the crown prince Li Longji before. Xue Chongxun couldn't figure it out, and he couldn't figure out what the situation was for a while, so he had to sit calmly and say nothing.

At this moment, there was a sudden "bang", and before Xue Chongxun could react, there was a sharp pain in his back, and he was stabbed by something!

Damn! What kind of own person is this?! Xue Chongxun's heart suddenly seemed to have fallen into an ice cave, and he didn't think much about it, but when he heard the sound again, he hurriedly turned to one side, only to see a spear stabbing horizontally through his chest again.

He hurriedly kicked the car door over and rushed out of it.

In an instant, he smelled at least three scents: the smell of blood on his body; and I don't know where the fragrance of flowers wafted from the yard; But the smell of flowers is mixed with a smell of urine. In such alleys, people often urinate in the open. No matter where you are, there are always such dark corners in the bottom society.

"Boom!" The four servants next to the carriage immediately pulled out their waist knives, and even the horseman who was driving the carriage jumped down with a knife.

Xue Chongxun wanted to ask Jiang Changqing what this meant, but immediately he realized that it was a nonsense, so he didn't speak, just habitually touched his waist, and soon realized that there was only an empty scabbard hanging from his waist.

Still no one spoke. In this dark corner, the atmosphere is depressing. Xue Chongxun's back was in sharp pain, and he felt that Mai was already soaked with blood, and it was coldly attached to his back. M